1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a seat assembly for an automotive vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates to a head restraint that automatically moves between a use position and a stowed position in response to pivoting a seat back between an upright seating position and a forwardly folded position.
2. Description of Related Art
Seat assemblies in many passenger vehicles, such as automobiles, include a head restraint which provides added comfort for a passenger. In addition to the comfort feature, the head restraint also provides a safety feature. Namely, the head restraint restricts head movement of a seat occupant during a rear impact collision, which reduces the likelihood of whiplash type injuries. Typically, the head restraint is mounted to an upper end of a seat back as either an integral part of the seat back or as a separate unit mounted to the seat back. The separable head restraints usually include some type of height adjustment mechanism. One problem with having head restraints, particularly in second and third row seat assemblies, is the head restraints obstruct the view for the driver and/or passengers out the rear of the automobile. Another problem is the effect of increasing the total height of the seat back. This increased height is a problem when designing stowage systems for seats. More specifically, when the seat back is folded forwardly the head restraint may interfere with a back side of a forward seat, thereby preventing the seat back from pivoting to a stowed position and reducing the total storage space within the automobile. Additionally, the head restraint may present clearance problems when attempting to stow the seat assembly within a recess in a floor of the automobile.
To address these problems, various stowable head restraint assemblies have been developed that include mechanisms for moving a head restraint between a use position and a stowed position. These mechanisms can be quite complicated and some require the head restraint be manually returned to the use position after being moved to the stowed position. It is therefore desirable to provide a simple and robust mechanism or activation assembly for automatically raising and lowering a head restraint in response to pivoting a seat back between an upright seating position and a forwardly folded position.